


broken carols

by Saraste



Series: Holiday ficlets 2016 [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 2016 Holiday Fics, Angst, Christmas Season, Drarry, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grimmauld Place, HP: EWE, M/M, PTSD, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8774047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraste/pseuds/Saraste
Summary: Draco has a hard time around Christmas.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this all on katajainen. She gave me specs.

 

Their first Christmas together, the one just after the War, Harry comes home early on the 23rd, ready to spend his week of time off with one Draco Malfoy, his boyfriend.

 

The house is silent when Harry enters, even when he knows that Draco should be home, not working at the moment, not doing much of anything, and it makes Harry immediately worried. But no, the house isn’t entirely silent, if Harry pricks his ears, strained his hearing, he can hear an all too familiar muffled sound from upstairs.

 

He makes himself not run up the stairs, howevermuch he wants to. It won’t help Draco for him to break his neck, rushing to him. 

 

Draco’s in the bathroom at the second landing, as he always is, sitting in the tub, shivering. Scrubbing at his hands, already rubbed raw from too much of it. He’s muttering to himself.

 

And this had been one of his better days. 

 

Harry reigns in the anger he wants to let out in a shout, as that won’t help. It’ll just make everything all the more worse. There’s water overflowing onto the tiled floor, some of it has flown to soak into the hallway carpet, it makes Harry’s sneakers squish. He doesn’t care. 

 

‘Oh, Draco…’

 

Scars stand out in faded relief across Draco’s chest, a little emaciated still, the Dark Mark almost seems to be carved on, as it leaps out in such stark relief against the sickly paleness of Draco’s skin. 

 

Harry really should have had someone stay with Draco. He had no idea the holidays would be… that it would trigger something like this. It’s usually screaming nightmares, Draco attacking Harry while they sleep, not waking up properly until Harry shakes and shakes him, calls out his name.

 

His knees get wet as he gets down next to the bath tub, taking hold of Draco’s face and making him look at himself. The grey eyes are startled back into the real world from their vacant terror after a  moment. Harry doesn’t think of how the water is tepid at best. Doesn’t want to think how long Draco’s been in the tub. Pushes back the memories of screaming and blood, so much blood, soaking through fabric. Draco’s nakedness is almost a relief.

 

‘Harry?’ Draco always sounds so young. ‘I can’t…’

 

‘I know, I know. I’m home now.’ 

 

Harry helped Draco get up from the tub at his pace, nudging only a little, pulls a puffy towel to wrap Draco in from the drying rack near the sink.Draco’s skin feels clammy. They both almost slip on the overflown floor as they make their way into the bedroom almost across the landing. Draco’s silent, sitting on the edge of the bed as Harry rubs him dry and warm, helps him get into a set of pyjamas, pushing his legs into woollen socks when Harry prompts him. 

 

He’ll get back to himself, slowly, Harry knows, but seeing this listless compliance is horrifying on it’s own right, especially when Harry knows how the last year of the war was on Draco. 

 

‘D’you want tea?’ he asks, once Draco’s tucked under the covers. 

 

‘No,’ Draco sighs, sounding more like himself, like the older Draco, the post-War Draco, Harry’s Draco, now. ‘Stay?’

 

Harry does, sliding under the blankets and letting Draco drape himself all over him. He’ll owl later to cancel Christmas drinks with Hermione and Ron tomorrow. They’ll understand. 

 


End file.
